


Winter Warmth

by glim



Category: Merlin (BBC)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, Sickfic, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-11
Updated: 2011-01-11
Packaged: 2017-10-14 16:37:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/151296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glim/pseuds/glim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin endures a holiday visit to Arthur's family, a head cold, and a very protective Arthur. (Set in the modern au of <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/73012">To Pennfield</a>.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Winter Warmth

Cloudy. Light snow. Cloudy. Partly cloudy. Freezing drizzle. Cloudy. Snow. _Snow. **Snow.**_

Merlin snapped his laptop shut and buried his face in his arms. He really ought not to have bothered with looking at the ten-day forecast. He probably could've predicted most of it on his own: it wasn't especially difficult to come up with less than varied iterations of 'cloudy' and 'frozen precipitation.'

It wasn't that he didn't like the snow, though it seemed to Merlin that England had already received quite enough of it for the winter.

Well. The autumn and start of winter, technically, and the thought of piles upon piles of snow before it was even properly winter just made Merlin want to burrow down further into his scarf and jumper and pretend that spring wasn't very far off.

His delusion was shattered almost instantly by the jangle of keys at the door. Merlin peeked over his arms with one eye, lifted a hand slightly, and tried the lock. His magic slipped through the mechanism instantly – it was just as familiar with the inner workings of the shop as Merlin or Gaius was – and a rush of cold air accompanied the faint squeak of the door's hinges.

"Are you really still working? I thought I'd find you curled up in the armchair in the back room."

Merlin lifted his head completely from his arms. Arthur, of course. He was the only other person who had keys to the shop aside from Merlin and Gaius and who, because of the snow, was here to pick Merlin up from work and give him a lift home.

"I was trying to sort out some of the post-holiday inventory." Merlin gave his laptop a wayward frown.

"Mm. By napping next to it? Is that what you magical bookshop owners do nowadays?" Arthur set his briefcase by the till and came around to stand next to Merlin. His ears and nose were a little pink from the cold, just at the tips, and a few snowflakes, already starting to melt, glinted in his hair.

"One, I don't own the shop, and two, no, I don't use magic to do inventory. And don't do that, you're _cold._ " Trying to stay cross at Arthur wasn't working, not when Arthur was slipping his arms around Merlin and nuzzling at one of Merlin's ears with the cold tip of his nose.

"You can warm me up, then." Arthur pressed a kiss to Merlin's ear and hugged himself closer. When Merlin didn't say anything, he nuzzled at Merlin's ear again until Merlin nestled into the gentle, ticklish sensation. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You're grumpy. I can tell. And it's not – it's about tomorrow, isn't it?" Arthur rested his head on Merlin's shoulder. He was close enough now that Merlin could smell the last, faint traces of aftershave he'd watched Arthur put on that morning, more than twelve hours ago.

"No, it's not. Not really. It's _not_ ," Merlin repeated when Arthur hummed skeptically at him. Another brief wave of his hand locked the shop door and Merlin turned around on the stool behind the till to face Arthur. "I'm just tired and feel headachy."

"And you're still sniffling." Arthur glanced over Merlin's shoulder to the box of tissues Merlin had tried to place in an unobtrusive spot behind the till.

"And… yeah. A bit." Merlin felt himself blush, warm and pink over his neck and ears, at the odd, soft look that came into Arthur's eyes at his admission. He'd been feeling a bit rough that morning, probably from some combination of long holiday hours at the shop and the dreary, cold weather. Arthur had fussed despite Merlin's protests and looked as if he were about to start again, restraining himself only when Merlin rested both his hands on Arthur's chest and leaned into him.

"And you don't want to go tomorrow." A tiny frown line appeared between Arthur's eyebrows.

"I… I don't. But I don't want to have Christmas without you. And we promised last year that we'd come. Or, no, I promised last year that we'd come, and I'll be the one to bear the brunt of your father's wrath if we don't show up."

"My father isn't wrathful."

"He's quietly wrathful. He'll take me on some ridiculous hunting trip or … or give me _another_ tour of the house and point out every single knickknack." Merlin drooped in his seat a bit. "I feel I may end up trapped in a Wodehousian farce."

Arthur grinned that stupid, lovely grin of his, the same one that had caught Merlin right in the heart mere days after they'd met, and leaned in to press a kiss to Merlin's temple. "They're _objets d'art_ , not knickknacks."

Merlin nuzzled into the kiss with a sniffly sort of sigh. "Right. You're lucky I love you."

"It's true, I am. And you're lucky that I only have one aunt and don't even golf, so you should be safe from the full Wodehousian experience. " Arthur kissed him again and started to slide Merlin off the stool. "Now, let's get home."

~

"You don't need to come, if you don't feel like it."

Merlin looked up from fiddling about with his scarf to see Arthur standing in the doorway to the bedroom. He already had his coat and scarf on, gloves in hand, and his hair rumpled, like he'd already gone outside and had encountered the crystal-cold winter wind.

"I don't mind, for a bit, anyway. I'm sure the grounds are brilliant with the new snow." Merlin looped the scarf once more around his neck and smoothed it down over his chest before letting Arthur help him into his coat. "Besides, it's _Christmas_. I don't want to spend Christmas without you."

"It's not quite Christmas yet. And I suspect you'd manage a few hours without me."

Arthur's touch – the way he tightened Merlin's scarf and tucked it into his coat and the way he went on to button up Merlin's coat and fuss with the collar – told Merlin otherwise.

"I didn't mean – "

"I know," Arthur said, his fingers warm against Merlin's neck where he was back to adjusting Merlin's scarf.

Merlin glanced aside and fumbled in the pocket of his coat for one of the handkerchiefs that Arthur had already placed in their for him. Really, Arthur was being inordinately fussy for what was just a headache and runny nose.

When Merlin glanced back up at Arthur, it wasn't really guilt or worry that he saw in Arthur's eyes, but something a little bit like each. And Merlin knew that even the shortest amount of time, even a few hours, left on his own in this vast, strange house, would be too long. Not because he couldn't manage without Arthur – he'd certainly spent previous visits to Pennfield House trying to find some quiet nook where he could read while Arthur did whatever it was posh people did when they had too much time on their hands – but because, this time, he didn't want to manage without Arthur. He wanted a proper Christmas with his partner, he wanted lie ins and long breakfasts and afternoon walks and evenings spent lingering over wine and board games. And if Merlin had to have all those things here, at Arthur's family's ludicrous country house, well, then that's where he would have to have them.

Of course, it wasn't quite like that. They wouldn't have a slow, lazy morning or a relaxed, wine-and-board-games type evening until they stopped to visit Merlin's mum for Boxing Day or made their way back home.

The days leading up to Christmas had been sort of frenetic, what with the shop being busy, and that headache had set in just about as soon as Merlin had been able to close the shop for the holidays. He'd fallen asleep halfway through trying to help Arthur pack for their trip to Pennfield, slept through most of the drive there, and then spent their first evening at Arthur's family's house feeling bleary and disoriented from all the napping.

Today was a bit better, though a worse sore throat and runny nose had replaced the headache. Merlin had spent some time curled up on the sofa next to Arthur after breakfast, alternately reading and watching television. He'd considered hiding with his book while the rest of Arthur's family went out for a walk through the snow-covered grounds, but had changed his mind hastily when Arthur had touched the back of his neck, warm and fond, and murmured to Merlin that they were his family now, too.

And that was just like Arthur, to wrap his expectations up in warm touches and fond words, to brush his words and fingertips just over Merlin's senses and pull Merlin in against his side, protective and tight, and remind Merlin that he was Arthur's family as much as anyone else here at Pennfield this Christmas.

"Come on," Merlin said and rested his hands on Arthur's. "We are just going for a walk, though? No odd country house sporting type activities?"

"Just a walk," Arthur promised and handed Merlin his hat, not ready to leave until he watched Merlin pull it down over his ears.

~

Of course, 'just a walk' included tromping about in the snow, looking at various trees and winter birds and examining all the idiosyncrasies of the grounds while simultaneously reminiscing about past holidays spent at Pennfield.

Of course it did, if you were Arthur's father.

 _Of course_ , Merlin thought, scrubbing his nose against the back of his hand and contemplating whether he could get away with not joining the rest of the family for lunch. He wasn't particularly hungry, his head was aching again, and he was freezing. Literally. His hands and feet were even starting to feel a little numb from the cold.

Before he could excuse himself and make his way back up to the house, Merlin felt the press of Arthur's arm around his waist. "You look tired."

"I… Oh. Sorry. Rather am, actually. Do you do this every year?" He hadn't meant that question to sound quite so sharp, but, then again, he hadn't meant for it to sound so scratchy-voiced, either.

"Right. We're going inside."

"Arthur. I'll just – "

"No. You won't just do anything. We're going inside." Arthur tightened his arm around Merlin and tugged him toward the house. "You're exhausted and cold. And most definitely coming down ill. More ill. You're miserable, aren't you?"

"I could just go in on my own…" Merlin fumbled for his handkerchief with one gloved hand, then shuddered when the wind whisked around him and Arthur.

"I think not. I'm tired enough myself anyway. Come on. Back to the house, then up to bed."

" _Arthur_."

That was the end of Merlin's protests, however. Between the coughing and sniffling, and the fact that Arthur had caught him off-guard when he really was feeling cold and miserable and was thus able to direct Merlin's steps, Merlin didn't have a chance.

He found himself sitting on the edge of the bed he and Arthur shared at Pennfield, still shivering and sniffling, while Arthur rang down to the kitchen for tea and sandwiches to be sent up to their rooms.

"Do you want a shower? Or a bath? Or … maybe we'll just get in bed." Arthur sat down next to Merlin on the bed and started to help Merlin out of all his layers of outerwear. "Do you feel very wretched?"

Merlin shook his head, turned from Arthur with a noisy sneeze, and then turned back and nodded a bit. "I think I have a cold…"

Arthur edged in to press his hand to Merlin's forehead. "Mm. You're a little warm. I'll bring you paracetamol and see if I can find some LemSip to give you later on."

"… fussing …" Merlin shivered again when Arthur slipped off his coat and curled in on himself on the bed.

"Yes. I am absolutely fussing. It's Christmas, and you're not feeling well, and you are mine to fuss after." Arthur rested his hand on Merlin's cheek, cupping it gently, and nudged Merlin near enough for a quick kiss. "All right?"

"All right," Merlin agreed. He moved into Arthur's touch, relishing the comfortable, familiar warmth of him, and closed his eyes for a few moments.

From there, it was easy enough to pull off the rest of his clothes and exchange them for a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and one of Arthur's very warm, very soft jumpers. Merlin burrowed down into the pillows on the bed, feeling a bit ridiculous for doing so in the middle of the day, then feeling relieved to be doing so when he got hit with another few sneezes.

When Arthur returned, he had the promised paracetamol and a cup of tea for Merlin, both of which he pressed on Merlin as soon as he sat back down. He rubbed Merlin's back while he swallowed the tablets and made this low, soft soothing sound when Merlin had to turn and cough over his shoulder. There was a great deal of fussing with blankets and pillows after the tea, and Arthur leaving to change into track suit bottoms and a tee shirt, and then settling himself back on the bed by Merlin to make sure he remained under the blankets.

"Your ring…" Arthur murmured, his fingers moving over Merlin's left hand and stroking his empty ring finger gently.

"Oh." Merlin peered down at his hand and watched as Arthur kept on petting the back of his hand and the place where he usually wore the simple platinum band. "I didn't want to lose it."

"Hm." Arthur rubbed his thumb over Merlin's ring finger once more and nuzzled a kiss into Merlin's hair before slipping off the bed.

Merlin could hear Arthur rummaging in the bathroom. He thought of calling Arthur back, but chose to nestle down into the warm space Arthur had left on the bed, remembering late mornings in bed with Arthur and how their bed linens at home always seemed to smell of Arthur's soap and aftershave. He'd almost drifted off to sleep when he felt Arthur touch his hair lightly.

"Here. I love how you wear this to sleep… I love how I'm the one who gets to put it back on your finger when you get sleepy in the middle of the day." Arthur kissed Merlin's hair again and took Merlin's hand into his own, sliding the ring on just as carefully, just as smoothly as he had done the very first time.

Merlin's breath caught in his chest for a moment, a slight hitch of emotion that made the back of his throat ache, and his hand clasped Arthur's to tug him in closer on the bed. "Come keep me warm."

"That's exactly what I plan on doing," Arthur said and slipped in closer to Merlin. "Should I tell you a Christmas story to help you sleep?"

"Fussy _and_ ridiculous." Merlin curled himself up against Arthur's side anyway and let himself drift off to the sound of Arthur's voice, low and quiet.


End file.
